Cashless ATMs Go Global

That’s what we may be saying around this time next year, as KAL, makers of the “Retail Teller Machine,” or RTM, have announced plans to roll out their product on a global scale starting in early 2013.

KAL made the announcement at BAI Retail Delivery 2012, nearly six months after debuting their product in Times Square. ATM Marketplace reports that KAL has spent the last half-year “talking with bankers and independent deployers about the market opportunities presented by the machine.”

The underlying premise behind the RTM is simple. Instead of cash, RTMs provide consumers with paper vouchers, which can then be brought to store registers and exchanged for physical currency. KAL software then immediately deposits the money back into the retailer’s connected bank account, in what’s termed as a “back-to-back transaction.”

The RTMs are also unique in that they offer live video conferencing with bank call centers, providing consumers with real-time support.

Because RTMs don’t need to be consistently resupplied with cash, KAL claims they’re around 10 times cheaper to operate than standard ATMs.

“It’s a bank machine. It does not replace branches, it does not replace ATMs – it complements the ATM network. So in places where it makes sense to have ATMs, we say, ‘have the ATM there, and service as many customers as you can,” said Steven Hensley, KAL’s executive vice president of global sales. “But in other locations where it doesn’t make sense to have an ATM because it’s hard to have cash there, or whatever, put an RTM there, and you can deploy about 10 RTMs for the cost of every ATM. “

To see more of Hensley’s discussion with ATM Marketplace’s James Walker, watch the video interview below.